Patterns and drivers of temporal variability for native and invasive Okinawa ant communities

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I completed my analysis of temporal variability of the activity of Okinawan ant communities, which contributed to the growing evidence that human development may be responsible for loss of natural seasonal patterns in insects. Importantly, this is the first study to do so in the Asian subtropics, and one of the only for Japan. Sites with higher human development had diminished community seasonality, reduced synchrony (all species having similar activity patterns), and higher randomness compared to sites with greater forest cover. Interestingly, we found that the same species (even most alien species) have higher seasonality in the forest than in developed areas, negating potential effects of community composition differences across the island. We also found that the strong seasonal patterns we observed in the forest were more synchronous for native than alien species.I published our paper with colleagues on BioRxiv (https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.17.523860), and we are working on getting it published in a top ecology journal. I presented on this work at a national conference in Japanese (Ecological Society of Japan 2022), and at an academic meeting seminars (Tohoku University - OIST 3rd Joint Workshop on Biodiversity: From Genes and Species to Ecosystem Services and Resilience, 2022).